Complexes of gallium(III), antimony(III), titanium(IV), and cobalt(II) with acenaphthenequinonimine

Chemical and Electrochemical Reductions of Monoiminoacenaphthenes

Redox properties of monoiminoacenaphthenes (MIANs) were studied using various electrochemical techniques. The potential values obtained were used for calculating the electrochemical gap value and corresponding frontier orbital difference energy. The first-peak-potential reduction of the MIANs was performed. As a result of controlled potential electrolysis, two-electron one-proton addition products were obtained. Additionally, the MIANs were exposed to one-electron chemical reduction by sodium and NaBH₄. Structures of three new sodium complexes, three products of electrochemical reduction, and one product of the reduction by NaBH₄ were studied using single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The MIANs reduced electrochemically by NaBH₄ represent salts, in which the protonated MIAN skeleton acts as an anion and Bu₄N⁺ or Na⁺ as a cation. In the case of sodium complexes, the anion radicals of MIANs are coordinated with sodium cations into tetranuclear complexes. The photophysical and electrochemical properties of all reduced MIAN products, as well as neutral forms, were studied both experimentally and quantum-chemically.

BIAN-Aluminium-Catalysed Imine Hydrogenation

Hydrogenations have been dominated by transition metal catalysis, while the use of more abundant and inexpensive main group metal catalysts has remained a great challenge. Here, a bimetallic Li/Al dihydride was successfully applied to catalytic hydrogenations of imines. The catalyst [(DippBIAN)Al(μ-H)2Li(OEt2)2] was easily prepared from the 2e-reduced BIAN derivative and LiAlH4.

Novel Oxidovanadium Complexes with Redox-Active R-Mian and R-Bian Ligands: Synthesis, Structure, Redox and Catalytic Properties

A new monoiminoacenaphthenone 3,5-(CF₃)₂C₆H₃-mian (complex 2) was synthesized and further exploited, along with the already known monoiminoacenaphthenone dpp-mian, to obtain oxidovanadium(IV) complexes [VOCl₂(dpp-mian)(CH₃CN)] (3) and [VOCl(3,5-(CF₃)₂C₆H₃-bian)(H₂O)][VOCl₃(3,5-(CF₃)₂C₆H₃-bian)]·2.85DME (4) from [VOCl₂(CH₃CN)₂(H₂O)] (1) or [VCl₃(THF)₃]. The structure of all compounds was determined using X-ray structural analysis. The vanadium atom in these structures has an octahedral coordination environment. Complex 4 has an unexpected structure. Firstly, it contains 3,5-(CF₃)₂C₆H₃-bian instead of 3,5-(CF₃)₂C₆H₃-mian. Secondly, it has a binuclear structure, in contrast to 3, in which two oxovanadium parts are linked to each other through V=O···V interaction. This interaction is non-covalent in origin, according to DFT calculations. In structures 2 and 3, non-covalent π-π staking interactions between acenaphthene moieties of the neighboring molecules (distances are 3.36–3.40 Å) with an estimated energy of 3 kcal/mol were also found. The redox properties of the obtained compounds were studied using cyclic voltammetry in solution. In all cases, the reduction processes initiated by the redox-active nature of the mian or bian ligand were identified. The paramagnetic nature of complexes 3 and 4 has been proven by EPR spectroscopy. Complexes 3 and 4 exhibited high catalytic activity in the oxidation of alkanes and alcohols with peroxides. The yields of products of cyclohexane oxidation were 43% (complex 3) and 27% (complex 4). Based on the data regarding the study of regio- and bond-selectivity, it was concluded that hydroxyl radicals play the most crucial role in the reaction. The initial products in the reactions with alkanes are alkyl hydroperoxides, which are easily reduced to their corresponding alcohols by the action of triphenylphosphine (PPh₃). According to the DFT calculations, the difference in the catalytic activity of 3 and 4 is most likely associated with a different mechanism for the generation of ^●OH radicals. For complex 4 with electron-withdrawing CF₃ substituents at the diimine ligand, an alternative mechanism, different from Fenton’s and involving a redox-active ligand, is assumed.

Complexes of Metal Halides with Unreduced o-(Imino)quinones

A series of complexes of metal halides with unreduced quinone-type ligands have been synthesized and characterized in detail. The 3,6-di-tert-butyl-o-benzoquinone (1) and 4,6-di-tert-butyl-N-aryl-substituted o-iminobenzoquinones (2-5) (aryl is 2,6-dimethylphenyl in 2, 2-methyl-6-ethylphenyl in 3, 2,6-diethylphenyl in 4, and 2,6-diisopropylphenyl in 5) were used to obtain the molecular complexes with metal 12 group halides as well as with indium(III) iodide. The molecular structures of five complexes, bearing an unreduced form of redox-active ligand, have been established by single-crystal X-ray analysis. The spectral data, electrochemical measurements, and DFT calculations indicate the significant transformations of the molecular orbitals of 1-5 upon complexation with Lewis acids. The reduction potentials of o-(imino)quinones in complexes with metal halides shift into the anodic region versus uncoordinated ones. The choice of metal halide allows varying the shift magnitude up to 1.7 V in 2·CdI₂. The change of the oxidizing ability of the 1-5 upon coordination with Lewis acids enables the oxidation of mercury and ferrocene, infeasible for free ligands.

One-Electron Reduction of 2-Mono(2,6-diisopropylphenylimino)acenaphthene-1-one (dpp-mian)

The electrochemical characteristics of 2-mono(2,6-diisopropylphenylimino)acenaphthene-1-one (dpp-mian) have been investigated. One-electron reduction of dpp-mian involves the iminoketone fragment, which is revealed by the EPR spectrum obtained after the electrolysis of the dpp-mian solution in tetrahydrofuran (THF). The reduction of dpp-mian with one equivalent of metallic potassium leads to a similar EPR spectrum. The sodium complex [(dpp-mian)Na(dme)]₂ (1) produces an EPR signal with hyperfine coupling on the nitrogen atom of the iminoketone fragment of the dpp-mian ligand. Dpp-mian can also be reduced in a one-electron process by SnCl₂ ×(dioxane). In this case, complex (dpp-mian)₂ SnCl₂ (2) is formed, with the tin atom displaying an oxidation state of +4. Tin(II) chloride dihydrate, SnCl₂ ×2(H₂ O), also reduces dpp-mian, but the two ligands bound to tin in the product form a new carbon-carbon bond between the ketone moieties of the dpp-mian monoanions to form complex (bis-dpp-mian)HSnCl₃ (3). Metallic tin reduces dpp-mian to form the (bis-dpp-mian)₂ Sn (4) species. Compounds 1-4 were characterized by X-ray diffraction.